Recap | 2013 Economic Forecast – A Look Ahead

The March 12 breakfast program with Jim Paulsen was well attended by both NAIOP and non-NAIOP members. Mr. Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management and an economist with 25 years of experience, gave his insight on the current state of the economy and trends for the near future. His general prognosis was that we should stop worrying about the short term mediocre economy as we are in what he refers to as the “gear year,” or the fourth year of an economic upswing. We can expect to see much more activity in the short term, which is evident from the uptick in current activity. Mr. Paulsen also provided an interesting and insightful comparison between consumer confidence and the stock market, which appear to go hand in hand and mirror one another. This relationship suggests that the rise in stock prices will lead to a rise in consumer confidence and eventually to an increase in the performance of the economy. Mr. Paulsen delivered an informative presentation indeed!